Brian Burke

A Roseate Tern, standing beside a list of seabird jobs being advertised by Birdwatch Ireland.

We are currently hiring for a range of #seabird jobs at @birdwatchireland.bsky.social , with a deadline of 22nd March. If you'd like to join our Seabird team this summer see birdwatchireland.ie/get-involved...

A Roseate Tern, standing beside a list of seabird jobs being advertised by Birdwatch Ireland.

We are currently hiring for a range of #seabird jobs at @birdwatchireland.bsky.social , with a deadline of 22nd March. If you'd like to join our Seabird team this summer see birdwatchireland.ie/get-involved...

Alan MacLeod—

"This is how media lies to you in real time."

Biodiversity is not evenly distributed around the planet. In Ireland, 75 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) for seabirds have been identified.

Where are these hidden hotspots? Tune into our webinar on March 10th to learn where our seabirds go and why these places matter: bit.ly/4l0ZoZ2

Promotional tile for Northern Ireland Seabird Report Launch. Text reads: Join BTO NI to celebrate the launch of the 2025 Seabird Report at Coffee Cure, Bangor on Thursday 26th March at 6 pm to 8 pm. Booking is essential! Book your tickets here: bit.ly/NI-SeabirdReport2025. Logos featured: BTO Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), Ards and North Down Borough Council and Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP). Background photo is of a Little Tern by Philip Croft / BTO.

Join us for a FREE evening of talks and refreshments to celebrate the launch of the 2025 Northern Ireland Seabird Report!

Get your tickets here 👇
bit.ly/NI-SeabirdReport2025

🗓️ 26th of March
📍Coffee Cure, Bangor

Registration deadline: Thursday 19th March

Climate Changemakers: The endangered species caught in the crossfire of a lucrative fishery Tangle net fishery is a type of fishing that uses vertical net panels, usually kept underwater for a period of one to 10 days. It is considered an effective and inexpensive fishing method with nets ri...

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group wants an end to tangle netting

www.independent.ie/life/climate...

Angel Sharks are in real danger of going extinct locally, which would speed up their demise globally, because of the way the Irish government is issuing tangle net licences.
#RTECountrywide

Listen: 👉 www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

Government confirms plan to restrict social media for teenagers It’s understood Cabinet will discuss measures concentrating on restrictions for under 16s.

“A ban does not provide the clubs, the youth workers, the safe playgrounds, the links to their families and friends in the offline world that might nourish and support children.”

Well said by Noeline Blackwell from the Children's Rights Alliance.

www.thejournal.ie/social-media...

Ireland’s water is at risk and your help could make all the difference! The EU law that has been protecting our water and keeping us safe and healthy for the past 25 years is being torn down.

Learn more and sign our petition today: birdwatchireland.ie/.../hands-of...

#HandsOffNature

The next time you hear some politician blaming pearl mussels or the Habitats Directive for flooding disasters, might be a good time to point this out to to them.

The main east coast railway line runs on the other side of this fence, which is about to collapse into the sea. How much longer can politicians ignore the reality of climate change?

So in a week of catastrophic flooding the government have decided to move climate from its own section to a subsection under infrastructure and lift the Dublin airport passenger cap. Mighty

South Kerry fish species near extinction new data shows Recent data has revealed a near obliteration of a Kerry fish species over two decades.

"Figures from a fish counter in Waterville... show sea trout stocks have decreased by 95.6 per cent since 2002"

The sea is empty, fishing as an economic sector is over, the only thing that will turn things around is strict protection

www.independent.ie/regionals/ke...

Environmental breakdown isn’t a distant possibility – it’s a threat to world stability The message is clear: climate change should be prioritised as a security crisis, not just an environmental one

"The most cost-effective & impactful way to protect our collective future is through large-scale restoration, which can only happen with a truly steadfast commitment of long-term funding in the billions. It’s peanuts compared to what the alternative would cost." 💯
www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Ireland in the storms: Flood barriers won't save us if we keep draining the land After Midleton, government promised flood protection, but instead, doubled down on dredging and delayed land-use reform, leaving communities exposed, writes Pádraic Fogarty.

After flooding in the past, successive governments promised protections, but instead, doubled down on dredging and delayed land-use reform, leaving communities exposed, writes Pádraic Fogarty.

jrnl.ie/6946724

I caught this bird the day the day it arrived (17th) and it stayed until 25th. It was then seen on 28th 289km away in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. It would seem that the regular wintering bird at both locations is actually the same bird….🤯 🪶📷 Ronan Owens @birdguides.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social

"In a disaster, the skeleton of society is laid bare. Politicians need scapegoats when their inability to make hard strategic decisions is exposed...But who rezoned the floodplains,...who has drastically underfunded climate-adaptation measures for the past 20 years?"

This image shows the cover of issue 37 of SEABIRD journal by The Seabird Group. It is of a ringed guillemot with two small chicks, standing on a rocky wall. There are other parent birds with chicks in the background.

#Seabird Journal issue #37 is complete and has been sent out to those who requested a physical copy 😊
Remember to check your mailboxes!

It is also available to read online here ➡️ www.seabirdgroup.org.uk/seabird-37

#science #seabirds

Third of Ireland’s wintering waterbirds vanish in just 30 years Some species increased numbers but others have declined by more than 50%

Third of Ireland’s wintering waterbirds vanish in just 30 years

Third of Ireland’s wintering waterbirds vanish in just 30 years Some species increased numbers but others have declined by more than 50%

A periodic reminder that very little has been done to address the biodiversity crisis

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

Happy St Brigid’s Day!
Oystercatchers are called ‘Gille-Brìghde’ in Gaelic- ‘Brigid’s servant’ - because they saved her life once

We need to get real. Met Éireann is not to blame for flooding damage - poor planning, building on flood plains, not implementing over 20 years of remedial action are. We were warned decades ago winter rain would increase, but continued doing nothing and built on space needed for water #spéirghorm

Imagine if there was an epidemic of pubs selling alcohol to children and instead of shutting the pubs responsible the government imposed a nationwide curfew on everyone under 16.

Sitting across the Oireachtas Children's Committee on online safety for children.

Very much getting the impression that a lot of politicians are reaching for the Under-16 ban. Momentum behind that rather than a deeper understanding of platforms, algorithms and any alternative view.

We’re not serious about tackling flooding as long the arterial drainage scheme continues to be treated as untouchable. It was built for mid‑20th‑century land drainage, not 21st‑century climate change charged flooding. Its time to store flood water in flood plains not in towns.

Why is Ireland planning to all but give up on protecting its waterways? Ella McSweeney: The Department of Housing is proposing to give up trying to restore or naturalise many of our rivers

Ireland’s plan to weaken legal protections for waterways will push many of them beyond recovery

www.irishtimes.com/environment/...

‘Worst not over’ warns Met Éireann as Storm Chandra floods homes and businesses in Wexford, Dublin and Wicklow Met Éireann says risks ‘persist for the rest of the week’ amid more rainfall and slow drainage

Late last year the government designated 466 rivers as 'highly modified', meaning they will continue to be dredged for the purposes of agriculture, ensuring towns and villages face greater flood risk

www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

There should be a one-month moratorium on new work. Just give everyone the month of February to do the things they are already doing. Nothing new. No additional projects. No new initiatives. No requests. Any email asking someone to do something is automatically rejected and replaced with a cat gif.

Yorkshires only Little Tern colony relies on paid wardens to protect them from predators and disturbance, the team have achieved amazing numbers of fledglings in recent years and it would be a great shame if it doesn’t run this year, much appreciated if you can help out with this funding gap 🙏

Justine McCarthy: Ireland celebrates Hamnet and Jessie Buckley’s success. It should feel shame Separating refugee parents and their children betrays the family values of the film and of our constitution

“Family reunification accounts for little more than 1% of migration into Ireland. Telling people granted refugee status to wait three years – until their children no longer recognise them – is not the stance of a country that professes to cherish the family unit.”
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...